The Scouts followed Bart and his dog down the walk, trying to learn more. But the young milkman obviously was in retreat. With a friendly wave of his hand, he sprang into the delivery wagon and with Pete at his side drove off.
“There is something wrong with this cottage!” Judy declared with firm conviction. “That young man spoke of strange noises.”
“Maybe they have a connection with that locked door Mr. Krumm mentioned,” Ardeth said. “Judy, I think you’ve rented a house with a mystery!”
“If that’s all that’s wrong with it, I’ll be pleasantly surprised!” Judy responded, her voice grim, “I wish I could get my money back.”
“No chance of that, I’m afraid,” commented Miss Ward. “Mr. Krumm warned us the deal was final. He may have taken advantage of us. That remains to be seen.”
“Let’s really inspect the cottage,” Virginia proposed. “Mr. Krumm purposely took us through at a whirlwind pace, so we wouldn’t notice too much.”
Dejectedly, the girls trooped into the cottage. The living room was pleasant enough with a rug on the floor, a slightly musty-smelling davenport, chairs, a good reading light and attractive red calico curtains at the windows.
Bedrooms also were well furnished and ample wardrobe space had been provided. Water ran rusty from the kitchen tap when Judy turned it on.
“Apparently, the cottage has been empty a long while,” she remarked. “I guess Mr. Krumm tagged me for an easy mark all right!”
“If you were taken in, so was I,” said Miss Ward. “All the same, I can’t for the life of me see very much wrong with this place.”